


Timeless Flight

by somethingsintheair



Series: TWRP Origins [3]
Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Origins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 22:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12443106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingsintheair/pseuds/somethingsintheair
Summary: Commander Meouch had always been a lone wolf at heart.A direct continuation of "Rocket Man".





	Timeless Flight

Commander Meouch had always been a lone wolf at heart. He liked to do things his own way, without any interference. So it wasn’t too bad, a life alone in the cosmos. He didn’t have to answer to anyone. He didn’t know where he was going, and he didn’t care. He had the entire universe at his fingertips, he could do anything he wanted. He should’ve been happy, right?

Well, for the most part, he was. But there were times where he wouldn’t be so happy, the occasional bout of loneliness or existential crisis. He mostly occupied those times by tinkering with his ship, adjusting and reinforcing anything that might need it.

He’d spent the past few hours doing just that, lying on the floor of his ship with his head inside of a compartment in the wall. He was mostly just reorganizing wires and tightening screws as he saw fit, but it was enough to keep him busy.

And then, he heard a thump. His initial reaction was to look up, but in the process he slammed his head on the top of the compartment. He cursed under his breath, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head as he pulled himself out of there.

Was that.

Was that a person on his windshield.

Heart racing, he dropped everything and stumbled his way to the front. There was, indeed, another life form on the front of his ship, head jerking around, looking just as baffled as Meouch was. As the Commander pulled his ship to a stop, he pointed towards the door. Maybe the guy could climb around and get in that way?

Then, Meouch noticed the creature wasn’t even holding on in the first place-- the strap that held a guitar to his body looked to be caught on a piece of the ship. In fact... he’d stopped moving altogether.

Fuck, was he _dead?_ Had Meouch run into him and killed him?

Now considerably more panicked, he made sure his shields were powered on and rushed into the airlock. He tried his best to build up some courage as he slipped into a harness and fumbled with the tether that would keep him attached to the ship. Even if it was just a dead body, he couldn’t exactly go flying around using it as a hood ornament. Not only would it limit visibility, but it would also likely cause some alarm with any passing ships. Maybe he could even give the guy a proper burial the next time he landed. He deserved that, at least, especially as a fellow musician.

After a few deep breaths to get used to his oxygen mask, Meouch opened the door and began to scale the side of the ship. It wasn’t a big ship, so it wasn’t far to travel, but it had been quite a while since he’d found himself out in the open like that. He generally preferred to avoid situations like that.

He grabbed the first thing he could reach, which happened to be the guy’s ankle, and pulled him in close. Being attached to the ship by just the one hand (as well as a thick cable) was considerably more nerve-wracking than having the use of both hands, so he had to take another few seconds to calm down after he’d secured the man and his guitar in a tight hold.

When he began his slow journey back, he could’ve sworn he felt the guy’s fingers start to curl in around his side. And as he went on, he became increasingly aware that this man was, in fact, very much alive. By the time they reached the airlock, he was clinging onto Meouch like his life depended on it. And, well… it did, right about then.

When he stepped back inside the ship, and the pull of gravity got stronger, it became pretty apparent that the guy wasn’t capable of holding himself upright-- Meouch nearly dropped him to the floor as the door locked behind them. Once he got the guitar slung over his shoulder, he hooked another arm under the man’s knees to get a better grip. As Meouch stepped into the main part of the ship, he realized just how much the body in his arms was shaking.

The man didn’t seem too keen on the idea of letting go, either, and continued to cling to Meouch as he tried to let him down.

“H-hey, bud, it’s okay,” Meouch said, his voice slightly muffled behind the mask. He reached down to pull the man’s arms off of his neck, and was surprised at how little effort it took to do so. “Just… uh. Lemme get this stuff off, okay?”

He propped the guitar up against the wall before stepped back into the airlock to put everything back. When he returned, the guy was leaning up against the wall, breathing heavy and shaking like a leaf.

“Dude, what the hell were you doing out there?” Meouch asked, and flinched when he saw the man visibly jump in response. “Uh, sorry,” he mumbled, shaking his head. Right, startled creature. He had to be more gentle. “Do you… uh. Do you have a name?”

A moment of silence. Then, a hoarse noise from behind the man’s respirator.

“Can you... talk?” Meouch asked. Slowly, the man shook his head. “Alright, one sec, lemme see what I can...” He trailed off as he left for another section of the ship, and took a minute to rifle through his various boxes of shit before he found what looked to be a functioning word processor. It was a simple device, just a green touch screen with a keyboard and display box. It would do.

“Here, can you use this?” he asked as he placed the device in his new passenger’s lap. The man stared down at it for a moment before he raised a shaky hand to type a single word, slowly. Meouch crouched down as he did so, and took a quick glance over his shoulder.

_phobos_

“That your name?” Meouch asked, “Phobos?”

The man, Phobos, nodded.

“I’m Meouch.” He offered a smile, even though Phobos wasn’t looking up at him. “Where are you from, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Phobos was a bit slower to type his response.

_sect 8_

“Wh… Sector 8?” Meouch read. The name sounded familiar, but he was almost sure he’d only heard about it with negative connotations. Wasn’t there some sort of disaster? 

He decided not to ask about that, and instead chose his next words carefully. “Are you hurt at all?”

Phobos shook his head before he started typing another response.

_muscle dcay_

Meouch furrowed his brow. It took him a moment to realize just what that statement implied. “Have you been… were you just floating around out there?” he asked.

Phobos nodded.

“For how long?”

A shrug.

“Shit, dude,” Meouch muttered. “How are you even still alive?”

_resilience_

“That much, huh?” Meouch asked. He was feeling some strange combination of concern and admiration, and wasn’t quite sure how to express both at once. “I… uh. I heard about Sector 8, vaguely,” he said. Phobos didn’t make any move to type, so after a moment’s hesitation, Meouch continued. “How’d you... get away from all that? Weren’t you under attack?”

Phobos’s shoulders lifted in a visible breath before he started typing. He took his time with his answer, and was careful to angle the screen away from Meouch until he finished.

_launched to next sect 2 find reinforcmnts xplosion thrw off course_

Meouch gulped. That sounded… fucking terrifying. But before he could voice anything of the sort, he noticed Phobos typing again.

_what did you hear abt 8_

“Uh...”

_survivrs_

Slowly, Meouch shook his head. He hadn’t heard anything of the sort. As far as the rest of the universe was aware, Sector 8 was gone.

Phobos was still for a moment, hands hovering unsteadily over the screen. Meouch watched as he typed, and he could tell Phobos was hesitating.

_i left my wife behind_

Meouch felt his heart sink in his chest. Oh. “I… I’m sorry,” he spoke softly.

_kids too_

Meouch suddenly felt very sick, but Phobos wasn’t looking any better. He was trembling a lot harder than before, and when Meouch glanced down at the word processor again, he saw a clear drop on the screen.

Phobos was crying.

Meouch took a shaky breath before he shifted oh-so-carefully to sit down next to Phobos. He didn’t look at him, though, just focused on his hands in his lap. “It’s… it’s okay, man,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “It’s gonna be okay.”


End file.
